Girl, 6, ‘battered to death by her dad’ was repeatedly kept off school in the months before her death

By TOM TOWERS

6 May 2016, 18:11

A GIRL allegedly “battered to death by her dad” was repeatedly kept off school in the months before she was beaten to death, a court heard.

Ben Butler, 36, is on trial accused of murdering his six-year-old daughter Ellie Butler by smashing her head while at home alone with her and another child on October 28 2013.

He and his partner Jennie Gray, 36, are also charged with child cruelty over an untreated broken shoulder Ellie suffered weeks before her death.

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Ben Butler and his partner Jennie Gray have also been accused of child cruelty

The Old Bailey heard how Ellie had a low attendance rate at Avenue Primary School in Sutton, south west London.

School administration assistant Kelly Vennard told jurors how they repeatedly tried to get a medical note for absences, until the mother became “angry and aggressive.”

Various reasons for her absence included "upset stomach, mum has interview, unwell over the weekend, sick in the night, and sore throat", the court heard.

Ms Vennard said: "Her attendance was so low, every absence that occurred would need medical evidence. It was just an ongoing thing."

In September 2013, Ellie missed the first week of the new term but her mother failed to respond to a voicemail asking for an explanation.

At the beginning of the following month, Gray told the school that she was keeping Ellie at home because she had "flu/bad throat etc".

One of Ellie’s teachers told juriors how she came to school with an eye injury on October 14.

When asked, Ellie said she had sustained it after chasing their new dog around the house and falling into the stairs.

The court also head evidence from a succession of GPs who dealt with the Butler family.

Dr Hazel De-Bono saw Ellie with her father on June 23 and noticed a bruise in the centre of her forehead, a minor graze and bruising across her nose.

Butler said his daughter had tripped and fallen on the stairs at home, knocking her glasses into her face.

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A screen grab from an undated home video issued where Ben Butler is caught having a swearing rant in the presence of his daughter

Dr Annabel Ilves had a telephone conversation with Gray in October where the mother said Ellie was recovering from a “respiratory tract infection” and requested a note to cover her school absence.

The doctor agreed, but did not authorise Ellie’s absence and made clear she had not been seen at the surgery.

Four days before Ellie’s death, her father took her to see Dr Sheldon Huggins about getting her ears pinned back.

He said: “I thought it was a bit odd because she was a young girl. It would be an operation. It would mean putting her to sleep. I thought it was a bit drastic but given he eventually told me she was being bullied, that’s why I decided to refer her.”

Butler and Gray deny the charges against them.

However, jurors have heard that Gray has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice in the wake of Ellie’s death.